Fighting Spirit
by Zadien
Summary: [reposted]The world is torn between gangs, and in the midst of it all she searches for him. All the while trying to avoid the cool calculating gang leader who seems intent on destroying all her well laid plans. Kai&OC,Johnny&Oc,andTala&OC.-Discontinued-
1. Street Fighting

Fighting Spirit

By: Zadien

Disclaimer: _I don't own Beyblade. I only own Amber Benson and Ruin Mulryan. Sonia Martini belongs to Spitfire_Sae. _

A.N. _Well Sae doesn't want to complete this fic, and well I do. So here I am posting it under my name. I'll have an update for you guys soon. And I've rejazzed the plot line so it'll make more sense. In my opinion this chapter is far too long, but I haven't been able to cut it down. But the next couple of chapters won't be as long. Trust me. _

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Summary: Gang warfare has taken over Bakuten. Amber has taken to solitude, fighting on her own away from the gangs. She searches for the one person who abandoned her and she wants him back but on her searches she runs into old friends and new challenges, including the cool and calculating heir to the hearts, but how will he react when he finds out her secret. 

Chapter One: Street Fighting

She strode down the street confidently well aware that she could take on everyone on that street and survive. This confidence exuded off her in almost visible waves. Anyone who saw her that night would have seen a beautiful yet aloof young woman of barely 20 years. Her strawberry red hair was chopped jaggedly just below her jaw bone, her features were Irish-American, some would have said cute, animated when she smiled. But she didn't smile, preferring to wear a scowl or a chilly demeanour; it had been a long time since she'd smiled. There was a tattoo of an artists impression of the Greek Goddess Artemis on the side of her abdomen, only it was hidden at that very moment by the hilt of her Katana which was resting in it's sheath under her long black duster. Her eyes were a dead bottomless black, and impossibly large. She could freeze any ones blood with one deadly cold glare. When fighters looked they saw a warrior, and her enemies saw death. 

Right now she couldn't see anyone. The street was deserted, or it looked that way, but she knew better. No one knew better than Amber Benson; the dangers that lurked in the shadows. She could feel their eyes watching her, observing her smooth movements as she passed under the orange spot lights of the street lamps. She could feel the darkness pressing in around her as they edged closer. Her hairs stood on end, she could feel them coming nearer to her.

This was the most dangerous time to be out in the town. Ever since the **Blood War** of three years ago, the world had become much more dangerous, the people more deadly. The Blood War had been between the _Scorpions_ and the government. The Scorpions had won, and now gangs ruled the country, while the government tried to hold on to a little bit of authority. People joined the Scorpions to keep themselves and their families safe and some to get rich off drugs and the like. If you weren't a Scorpion then you were the enemy. But the gang members couldn't remain civil to each other and the groups divided, forming their own rules and policies, and destroying every other band's whose ideas conflicted with theirs. Many innocent people got caught in the crossfire, and it wasn't as though the police could help, which meant more and more people joined and got killed in other fights. It was a vicious circle. 

Anger rose bitterly in side her as she let her gaze skim the high line of the roof tops. She was sure she was being followed but she guessed not. Not that it mattered. She'd find trouble, or more to the point, trouble would find her. It usually did. In the horizon the sky was stained with a flaming orange hue. More fires, she thought darkly. The rival gangs were constantly starting fires on rival territories and properties, trying to eliminate their enemies as quickly as possible with minimum effort. 

She headed into the rough part of town, skirting the barrels of fire which lit up the back alleys. She knew this part of town like the back of the hand. She knew how to avoid gangs and knew the various types of gangs. Most avoided her like the plague, but recently others had been searching for her. She remembered a few bounty hunters who had come for her; one had even got into her apartment that morning. 

She had gone running that morning to let off some pent up energy. When she had returned home, she had felt something was wrong. The hall was too quiet although most people should have been up and awake, getting ready for work. 

She had turned the handle, bending down to examine her foot as a sharp pain shot up it. As she did there was a series of pops above her head. She had realised immediately what it was. Bullets. She had rolled to the side drawing her 9mm automatic. She didn't understand why the person had shot at her when she hadn't even been in the door. Amateurs. 

More to the point _she_ could have been one of her room mates. They were totally innocent and would have died for Ambers' mistakes. She wouldn't have been able to bear it if one of her best friends had gotten hurt or died because of her. Luckily, Bethan Hudson had been staying at her boyfriends' a lot recently while Midge Davis had left earlier that evening to go on a field trip. She wouldn't be back until later on that day and she would go straight to the school instead of the apartment. It was with these thought whirring through her head that she had entered the room, unfortunately for the man behind it. 

__

She had kicked in the door, gone in low and fired catching him in the hand, then on the knee. Her favourite place to shoot a man, were the knee caps. Their knee would buckle under their weight and also it meant she could glean him for information. And it was good for torture. She had drawn her Katana as she crossed to him, idly circling it over his larynx. She had kept her face emotionless as he watched her, fear consuming his eyes making his pupils dilated.

"What the fuck do you think your doing in my apartment?" she had asked coolly.

"Won't tell you." he answered defiantly.

She had simply narrowed her eyes, placing the tip of the blade on the smooth skin of his throat. Letting him know that her threats were not empty. A cold sweat broke out in his forehead.

"Now I don't really want to draw blood, mainly because I don't want to clean my blade. So please just tell me. I won't ask so nicely again."

He had hissed in pain, and tilted his chin up in defiance. Why when he was scared did he still have to keep his goddamn word? Who the hell was he working for anyway? She had grimaced as blood -from his bullet wounds- seeped into her beige carpet. Blood was the worst stain to remove from any type of fabric. 

Getting pissed she had placed some extra pressure on the sword and watched as it pierced his skin. He had gasped in pain, as blood trickled down his skin to his white shirt. Obviously he wasn't very good at his job. Anyone who dealt with blood did not wear white or any other colour that showed up blood, it drew unwanted attention. 

"I want the info, so tell me now, who put the hit out on me?"

He had merely shaken his head. Then in the next minute he jerked forward, eyes widening, he let out a gasp. He had slumped to the ground, and she caught sight of the small bloody hole in his head. The blood matted his blonde hair. She frowned slightly, feeling a slight wave of sympathy at his untimely death, which she hadn't caused. And she was still no closer to finding out who had placed a hit on her. 

Maybe she'd consult Tempest, she knew he'd probably have heard some of the word on the street. 

But it would mean she would have to go _home_ again. She didn't want to go back to the mansion. She had left home to become self sufficient, believing she didn't need her family holding her up for the rest of her whole life. She didn't need them ruling her life. She sighed. And she really didn't want to be part of that life anymore.

It had been four years since she'd left to make it on her own. Four years since she'd left the sanctuary of being in a gang. It had taken her a while to get use to it, but soon she found her skills and expertise put into practice when she had been hired as a bounty hunter, earning herself the nick name _Huntress_. People were scared of her. They knew her reputation for always getting her mark. After awhile she began taking revenge on gang members who hurt innocents, raped women, or killed children. It didn't pay but it made her feel a little better. And then she got the big gig of taking down the Biovolt corporation. 

Her cell ringing made her jump slightly in her skin. She reached for it and flipped it open, punching the little green button.

"Yeah?"

"Amber? It's Salima. Robert's got the info for the job. You up for it?"

Amber checked her watch and sighed. Robert had been previously checking out the location of a man she knew had organised gang rapes on a group of women in the surrounding area. The so called police had nothing on him, so therefore couldn't stop him; it could also have something to do with the fact that Amos had the Commissioner eating out of his hand. She had taken it on herself seeing that one of the women was a friend of Midge's. She had promised that when she found out where he was, she would hunt him down and kill him and that was exactly what she intended to do.

"Yeah, I'll get my stuff and get him tomorrow. Where is he?"

The voice on the other end of the line paused. "That's the deal Am's, it won't keep until tomorrow. From what Robert has dug up, it seems Amos has a journey to make tomorrow. He's got a flight booked for six thirty."

"Asshole, who does he think he is fleeing town just before I avenge Teddy?!" she demanded bitterly. 

Salima chuckled softly. "Robert asked me to leave you some toys in the warehouse, with a nice view into Amos' home."

That was Robert always making sure she was well looked after. She was after all his most competent bounty hunter. She deserved it. 

"I just hope he doesn't have any last minute entertainment tonight. Ok give me the address." she ordered.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Several minutes after she had received Amos' address she stood opposite his apartment. He owned the whole top floor apparently. Rich Bastard. Turning round she stole round the corner of the derelict warehouse. Amber stopped at the broken down door way. She stepped through the door way, pausing for a few minutes to let her vision adjust to the dark gloom. She made out the outline of a stair case and made her way to it. Carefully treading up the stairs being careful not to step on any rotten steps, she reached the top floor. She glanced to the window and gratefully thanked Robert when she caught sight of the weaponry sitting by the window over looking Amos's apartment. 

She cooed over the long, smooth, slender barrel of the sniper. It was one of the best snipers, -an R-36- one of her favourites. Her grin widened when she caught sight of the infra-red attachment. 

"Ooh pretty." she drawled as she slotted it onto the rifle. 

After focusing the lens for a better view of the apartment, she skimmed the gun along the length of his apartment looking for any signs of life. She flicked the switch to turn on the infra red sensor, shifting the weight of the gun so that it was more comfortable. Her vision was dyed a bottle green as she searched for the tell tale red blotch. At first she couldn't see anything and for a moment she thought that he had already left but then on skimming back for the fourth time, she caught sight of it lying horizontal just a few feet above the ground. His heat was radiating equally round his body. He was asleep. Very easy.

She zoomed in on the figure and steadied her finger on the trigger. She made sure she would have a clean shot, focused on his head for a swift death. She squeezed the trigger feeling the body of the gun jerk under the pressure of release. She watched the body spasm and then lay still. The red splotch began to spread around the bed turning to a gold yellow. 

"Another job well done. If I do say so myself."

She grabbed her cell out of her pocket and pressed the #3 button. She listened to the number being sped dialled. It rang once before it was answered. 

"Yeah?"

"It's done." she replied in a monotone voice, betraying no emotion. She hung up placing the cell back into her pocket again. 

She laid down the gun, dismembering it again; so that if any young people came across it before Salima picked it up, they wouldn't be able to use it. She listened to sirens in the distance. No one would know about Amos's untimely demise till he didn't turn up for his appointment and by then it would be too late and she'd be long gone. They'd be unable to tie her to his death. Of course that would piss Detective Lee off. He had an inkling that the huntress was behind the last couple of murders of accused rapists. But so far he couldn't prove anything, especially since he didn't have a clear idea who the huntress was. He suspected of course, but had no real proof.

She made her way out of the building chuckling softly imagining Lees face when he came across the body. She knew he would curse the Huntress, but he would still be frustrated at not being able to do a thing about it. She continued down the street revelling in the tranquillity of the night. Adrenaline pumped through her, making her head buzz and her heart pound. The only sound on the street was the slapping of her boots on the cold cement pavement. 

She folded her arms against the nip in the air. She should probably return to the apartment, now. She had warned her friends not to go home at school that morning. She supposed Beth would stay with her boyfriend Paul, again. Midge was staying at her parents home, Amber was supposed to go stay there that night. She wanted to check out her apartment before she went to Midges'. They needed to get their stuff, but she wouldn't let them go unless she went with them. 

She was just about to turn to go home, when she noticed a young girl, not much older than herself, cross the street out of an alley and duck into another side alley. Then she was followed by two men who skulked after her, both with a malicious aura surrounding them. Amber caught sight of the familiar long electric blue hair of one of them and sighed heavily, before chasing after them. 

"Oh I know I'm so gonna regret this."

Amber watched the young girl reach a dead end and turn around only to be confronted by her two stalkers. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her brilliant blue eyes widened and she stiffened as one of the figures stepped forward and pressing her against the wall. He licked up the side of the young girls face, making her cringe. 

"Oh God, please don't."

The man murmured something in her ear and the girl whimpered, making Amber's blood boil. '_Oh for that he's gonna pay_.'

The figure stepped back to stand beside the blue haired man. He leaned in and whispered something to _blue-hair_, who then walked up to the girl. She watched him with frightened eyes as he stood there doing nothing. 

Not waiting for anything else to happen, Amber took her chance and expertly crept forward, hidden by the shadows. She emerged out of the shadows behind the man who had licked the girl. He didn't catch onto the danger he was in. The girl was too preoccupied by her terror to notice anything around her, while the blue haired man had totally spaced.

The Huntress braced herself and placed her hands around the man's throat. Twisting violently she snapped his neck with an audible crack. His body gave out beneath him and he slumped to the ground, head lolling to the side. _Blue-hair_ realising something was wrong whirled round only to have his head snap round again, when Amber swung her fist at his face. He fell forward with the force. Not waiting for him to recover, she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forced her knee into his face. She let go, letting him stumble to the side, dabbing his nose delicately. His hand came away stained with blood. 

"Rayne what have I told you about terrorising females? Didn't I put it well enough the last time we met?"

__

Blue-hair, also known as Rayne, spat out a mouth full of blood. "You didn't say anything, Huntress."

"Not with words no, but I think I spoke pretty well with my fists."

He cursed something in his native tongue, then rose to face her holding his nose with one hand, his hand gun -a p2k- with the other. He wore a self satisfied smirk on his lips. She gazed coolly at him. Before swinging up her foot, lightning fast. Her foot connected solidly with the hand holding the cold metal of the gun, wrenching it from his grasp. The trigger was pulled but the bullet went wide. 

Rayne stared at her shocked. This time he had felt sure he had had the upper hand on the huntress, but yet again, she managed to surprise him. He stood facing her unarmed, while she, he had no doubt was probably armed to the teeth. As though reading his mind, she pushed back her duster to reveal a wicked looking hilt, which he knew from personal experience belonged to her Katana. 

Damn the woman. She spoiled all his fun. She had destroyed Storm's fleet of ships carrying drugs earlier that week. Storm had been furious and was quick to lash out at the person closest to him and as always it had been Rayne. He winced at the memories. And here she was again, stopping him torturing a no good for nothing commoner, while his gang was fighting the rest back at the restaurant. Tonight was the night they destroyed the _Hearts_ and put them out of commission. He wanted desperately to be there but he had his orders to find this young one, torture her, scar her mentally and physically and send her back to Tempest as a warning of what they would do the next time one of his men turned up on Storm's turf. Now instead of carrying out his orders and returning to fight with Storm, he was facing the Huntress unarmed. 

This was not his night. He placed his left foot forward in a fighting stance, and brought up his hands to guard his torso and face. The Huntress eyed him bemused. She thought he was foolish to engage in unarmed combat with her. So did he. But he'd never survive Storms anger if he fled the scene. Not so soon after his last punishment. He eyed her warily, waiting for her to move, or reach for her weapon of choice. She sighed heavily and looked to be considering something, weighing her options. He stepped back as she drew her Katana and threw it to the side. His eyes widened.

What was she doing? Was she mad?

As though she read his mind she answered. "It wouldn't be fair for me to fight you with a weapon."

He smirked, laughing at her foolishness inwardly. He was going to be famous. He was going to be the man who killed the Huntress. Not the man who wounded her, but the one who killed her. His reputation would soar. He'd be head of the gang in no time. He glanced at the tattoo on his palm. The _Eye of Horus_, the symbol of the Scorpions. This would protect him. He had faith in it, and a good feeling for tonight. 

Amber watched him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He was becoming overconfident. Granted he had never seen her fight, he'd only heard about it. And she had to admit, she was a little nervous, fighting hand to hand combat with Rayne. She knew he was an excellent fighter. He was the number one street fighter and that worried her. She had never been bested in unarmed combat yet, but there had been some near misses, when only her quick thinking had saved her. She figured he had to know her moves, from others accounts. She on the other hand, had never felt the need to study his moves, because she had never believed she'd be engaged in unarmed combat with him. 

She cursed her foolishness. How could she have endangered herself and the girl like that? Never mind herself, what about the girl, a nagging voice chided her. That was all that mattered. She had been challenged, another part of her argued, the part which had made her do all the stupid stuff she'd done when she was younger, without thinking about the consequences. She couldn't back down from a challenge, not when she was younger, not then either. It was the way she'd been raised, to never back down from a challenged, no matter how much the odds were stacked against her. She risked a glance at the girl who was still frozen against the wall. She would win for the young woman. 

She took her fighting stance and circled Rayne warily. He jabbed out his right hand and she ducked to the left, and fired a round house kick at his chest. It caught him unguarded and he stumbled back. She closed in on him for the attack and kicked out her left leg. Rayne caught it grinning viciously, and twisted it hard. She had no choice than to follow it with her body or risk breaking it. She twisted with it and landed hard on her face on the ground. Rayne stepped forward, and she struck out her foot. The heel caught his knee and he faltered. Then raising his leg straight above her body, he brought his foot crashing down towards her body. Amber yelped as she rolled to the side and winced and she heard the slap of his foot against the ground. Knowing surely that the force would have cracked or broken her ribs. She pushed herself to her feet, swinging out her leg and sweeping out his legs from under him. She backed off to recover slightly. 

She watched as Rayne rose slowly, panting heavily. They began to circle warily. The young girl watching all of this amazed. She had seen people fight before, including a lot of women. But this woman was different. She had skill but she also thought on her feet a lot. Using what ever moves possible to get herself out of danger. She watched as she twirled round the side of the one named Rayne, and dealt a vicious uppercut to his abdomen. He whirled round and lifted his left foot in a round house kick and followed with a jumping round house kick. The Huntress stepped back blocking both assaults. She ducked round to the side and step kicked his knee. Rayne leaned on his left leg and shot his fist straight out. It slammed into her solar plexus and she fell back, air whooshing out of her lungs. She landed on the ground with a thud. She lay there winded, then just had time to block a flying side kick from Rayne before it hit her throat. She grabbed his foot and rolled her body to the side, pulling her opponent to the ground. She rolled backwards to her feet and kept an alert stance up as Rayne rose again. 

The whole time they battled, the young girl noticed they said nothing to each other. They traded no witticism or quips; unlike the people she watched who battled. They were forever trading insults as well as blows. These two on the other hand were totally focused on the fight, on nothing else. It was amazing. The way they moved fluidly, it was like some sort of exotic dance. She watched the man jump into the air, execute a perfect spiral before whipping out his leg to catch the woman, but she ducked round under him; and not breaking rhythm rose hitting out with both sides of each hand, but the Rayne back flipped out of the way. 

Amber was getting tired and she wanted to get this battle over with so she could get the girl home and so she could get back to her apartment. But this battle with Rayne was slowing her down and tiring her out. Physically she was almost spent, but she had her duty, she would not fail the woman. Rayne advanced on her, and she noticed he was limping on his right leg before she had to guard herself from the onslaught of kicks. Her fore arms were bruised from guarding her chest and face. He punched at her again, but she blocked it; first his left, then his right arms were pushed to his side. She threw off his arms, making him stumble back unguarded. She jump kicked him in the chest, winding him. He stumbled back, but still he recovered. 

Now he stood before her dazed. She put all of her strength into the next move and hoped it would be enough. Skipping off on one foot she delivered a hard kick to his right knee. There was a loud crack and his leg gave way before him. Soon it was followed by the other leg and he crashed to the ground. She moved back to regain her strength knowing she should really finish it right then but she didn't have the strength to move yet. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with cool damp air. It would rain soon, she decided risking a glance at the night sky. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of movement and immediately cursed as her gaze collided with the flash of light reflected off metal. 

Rayne grinned. He had her now. As he lay on the ground, he had caught sight of something glinting in the darkness. On further inspection he had realised that it belonged to the barrel of his P2K, which the Huntress had knocked out of his hand earlier. They had forgotten all about it, and he blessed the Eye of Horus for his good fortune. He had reached for it ignoring the pain shooting up and down his leg from his crushed knee cap. This time he was going to make her pay for all the grief she had put him through. He rose enough so that he could level it at her. Keeping the gun steady he watched her eyes widen and her shoulders slump with resignation and defeat. She knew it was over and that she had lost for herself and for the girl. His grin widened until it was almost painful. This moment was delicious. He was going to be famous and worshipped, feared by all who had hurt him in the past. He lowered the gun, closed one eye focusing on where he was pointing.

Then he swung the gun over to point it at the girl. The Huntress had only a moment to register what he was doing. But it was enough, as he fired, she threw herself in front of the girl. The bullet slammed into her chest and flung her back to the floor. He licked his lips. Yes. Rayne rose slowly to his feet, and made his way closer, dragging his right foot behind him. The Huntress had managed to drag herself up so that she was sitting against the wall. Her face was etched with pain; her breathing shallow as she tried to bring in oxygen into her over worked lungs. He could see her glazed eyes watching him. He stepped over her so he was closer to the girl. He raised the gun to fire.

A sharp pain stabbed through his thoughts and shot up his back. He looked over his shoulder to see the Huntress leaning against the wall, with her Katana in her hands. She was holding it steady with both hands directly over his heart. 

"Back off Rayne. You've got your wish. You've killed the Huntress. Now leave the girl alone, or I swear I'll drag you to hell with me." she stated; words slightly slurred with pain, but the tone was lethal. She meant every word she said. 

Rayne backed off. He may be evil but he wasn't suicidal. He wanted to die as much as the next person. A slight smile graced his lips as he watched the Huntress slump to the ground, still watching him, still holding her Katana in a death grip. At least he had killed the Huntress. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't watch her die, but he knew it would come soon. With that happy thought he faded back into the shadows.

The young girl waited until she was sure he was gone, before she rushed to the Huntress's' side. The woman gasped in pain as she tried to stand up. 

"No, no don't move. You've been shot." she ordered. "If you move, you'll loose more blood. Wait and I'll call an ambulance." she reached for her phone and was about to dial, when a hand with a surprising grip snaked round her slender wrist. She looked down at the Huntress.

"Is there something you want?" she asked confused. Surely the Huntress didn't want to die. That was insane. That was suicide. 

The Huntress shook her head, and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, just a wordless noise. She cleared her throat before trying again. 

"Don't worry Kid." she replied noticing the girls blank expression and anxious gaze. "I'm fine. Shit they never tell you that getting shot with a vest on still hurts like hell." she muttered pulling open her shirt to reveal a bullet proof vest wrapped around her slender body. 

She studied the whole where the bullet had gotten stuck. "Dammit I only got this vest new."

The young girl stared at her. "So you're not dying?"

"Doesn't look like it, kid."

"But you were in so much pain." the girl answered kneeling beside her. She fingered the hole, then looked at the bullet that the woman had extracted from her vest. "I've never seen a bullet like this before, not even at home." she murmured, making Amber glance at her oddly. 

"No it's a custom made one for the Scorpions."

"Oh, so that's what gang they're in."

"Hmm.", Amber got up, hissing in pain, then crouched beside the one she'd killed earlier.

She reached for his hand and turned it round to the inside, where she knew the Scorpions had their tattoos painted. She frowned when she came across unmarred skin. Her gaze skimmed the body, taking in every detail. She unarmed him of his two pistols and Swiss army knife, knowing that children would be playing in that alley the next morning. It was when she was removing his second gun, that she noticed the blotch on his lower back. On closer inspection, she noticed that it was a little green shamrock. This unnerved her. She knew every gang that was in this country and their symbol but she had never seen a shamrock before, at least she didn't think she had. There was something incredibly familiar about it. She shrugged off the nagging feeling and turned to the girl.

"What's your name, kid?"

The girl glared at her. "Stop calling me kid. I'm seventeen years old, and I don't like being referred to as kid."

"Sorry, k...It's just someone use to call me that. I hated it too. I'm sorry for falling into the same trap. So what's your name?"

"I'm Sonia Martini." she answered proudly.

"Martini, huh? Spanish. Nice." Amber studied the young woman. She was probably not much taller than herself and was pretty slender but athletic. Her hair was a garnet streaked with gold with gold bangs. Her eyes were a crystal sapphire blue; heavily lashed. Her face was tanned a light gold and it was warm and open. This was the face of someone who had never been in a gang war. There was no hint of wariness in her eyes or hidden pain. Instead there was an innocence that would attract unwanted attention to her especially with her looks. Her hair was hidden underneath a Hawaiian blue bandanna which matched her pedal pushers and her top was a faded peach and cream cotton sweatshirt; which clung to her curves and the sleeves ended just after her elbow and on her feet she wore a pair of silver blue sketchers.

"What's your name?" Sonia asked innocently.

"That doesn't matter Ki-Sonia. So what were you doing out here?" 

Sonia looked uneasy, wondering how much to tell the woman who had saved her life. She sat back against the wall and studied her palms. "I wanted to get away from everyone."

"I can understand that, but this town isn't safe anymore. Bakuten's gone to hell with these gang wars and someone as pure as you won't last long, especially in the Bad Lands." Amber frowned and paused. "Do you have a weapon?"

Sonia nodded slowly, putting her hand into her pocket and fingering her tazer before pulling it out. "Yeah."

Amber made a sound of disgust. "No gun?"

"I don't want to kill anyone." the seventeen year old confessed quietly.

"Neither did I. But to survive you have to learn how to. Get someone to teach you how to shoot, ok?"

Sonia nodded. "I'll get my brother to teach me. He's amazing."

"Good. Well Sonia, I'm gonna go get that Bastard for what he did to you. No one, and I mean no one, harms a defenceless girl!" she declared voice deadly cold. 

She placed her Katana in her sheath, and took off her vest which was beginning to chafe. Sonia watched her in awe as she caught sight of the tell tale Tattoo of the huntress on her side. So it was true, this strong and courageous woman was the one that they all talked about. This was amazing. She had finally come face to face with Seth's first _Heart_. The one Enrique had mentioned. She could see why Seth would never have a bad word said about her and how he would never believe all the hype over those murders she was linked too. 

Amber got to her feet and turned to pull Sonia to her feet as well. "I want you to go home, right now. Don't stop for anyone at all, just get home, OK?"

Sonia nodded dumfounded. "Where are you going?"

Amber turned round and smiled, but the smile wasn't friendly. It made Sonias' blood run cold. It was a smile of death. 

"I'm gonna pay Rayne a little visit."

"Be careful, Huntress."

Amber smiled warmly and winked at the young girl, she knew she'd be meeting again. "Call me Amber."

Sonia nodded and waved before disappearing round the corner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Duck and Cover!" a man's voice yelled over the blasts of machine gun fire. 

A figure dove over the bar and drew his two hand pistols before returning fire at his enemies. His dark cherry-wood eyes narrowed angrily. 

"Get those Bastards!" he ordered his tone deathly cold. 

Another figure appeared by his side. 

"Kai, we have to get out of here. We're severely outnumbered." he informed his leader.

Kai nodded before rising up and firing at the nearest man catching him high in the chest. He pressed his finger to his ear. 

"Miyami can you see him?"

"Iie, not yet. Don't worry Cap'n, I'll keep ya posted." a female voice crackled over the frequency, followed by static. 

He turned to his companion who had just lobbed a grenade into the far corner. There was a blast, followed by male anguished screams and debris began to fall all around them. The thick plumes of smoke rose up setting off the smoke alarms and the sprinklers. Water fell down all around them soaking them to the skin. 

"Tala, I want you to get some men and take them in that direction." he pointed to his left. "Cover the exits. Not one of them is to leave this building alive. You hear me? I don't want him escaping again. This time he dies. If you need to, use Ruin."

Tala nodded then motioning to a couple of their men; they scurried off to their left. Kai provided cover fire, grimacing as he saw two fall as soon as they left the cover of the bar. He ducked down as a bullet flew by narrowly missing his ear. Something shattered above his head showering him with shards of glass. He grimaced as a sharp piece nicked the back of his exposed neck. He hissed in pain as he felt his neck and came away with blood. 

"Shit."

There was a scream above him. He glanced up to see one of his men jerk several times as he was shot repetitively at close range. The man stumbled back and the barrier gave out beneath his weight. He toppled off the second storey and fell with a sickening thud onto the ground. Dammit he was losing so many men. He began to wonder was it really worth it, then shoved that idea out of his mind. Of course it was. These bastards were gonna pay for what they did to them, to those who died. They hadn't deserved to die and for that they deserved revenge. Needed it. He rose up and aimed his gun at the Scorpion on the second level. He fired and grinned when he saw the other man fall to the floor. 

Behind him there was a loud shot followed by a gurgle of female laughter. He turned round to catch sight of a black haired woman with gothic makeup standing behind him, holding a smoking double barrel shot gun. She winked at him before whirling round and firing at another Scorpion. 

"Kai, next time we go out we should warn Ruin that she can _not_ have an orgasm with a shot gun."

Kai laughed at Miyami's comment. "Next time Yami. What's going on up there with you?"

"Just shot three guys with my wicked cool infra red gear. Remind me to thank Tempest, when we get back."

He shot another Scorpion point blank in the head, wondering if Miyami realised she had said _when_ they get back. Probably not, she generally believed she could get out of anything. 

"Bang, Bang; you're dead baby." she whooped across the frequency. 

He caught sight of another Scorpion topple from the balcony, shot in the back of the head. He had to admit Miyami was the best sniper he had seen in a long time. Of course telling her so would only make her head swell. She was a good kid and loved her cousin like her brother. He was proud of the girl. 

He caught sight of something that looked out of place. A man with raven black hair was fighting a ninja along the balcony railing with swords, not worrying about his surroundings. There was a red light dancing on the back of his head.

"Miyami, there's a sniper. He's pointing at Ray."

"Hai, Kai. You get Ray, I'll get the little fucker."

Kai threw himself over the bar and tucked himself into a ball before rising up, and firing at the man fighting Ray. He raced forward yelling at Ray to get off the damn rails. He stormed up the stairs taking two at a time, slamming the butt of a gun onto the head of a Scorpion who was in his way. All the time not taking his eyes of the red dot dancing along Rays' head. Shit he wasn't going to get there in time. 

He knelt to the ground and fired in quick succession on Rays' opponent hitting him in the head and chest. Rays' head whipped round, a flicker of annoyance crossed his golden cat like eyes before the window to his left smashed. Ray lost his grip and fell to the floor. 

"No!" Kai yelled racing towards the neko-jin, fearing he'd been hit. 

He looked over the railings to see Ray hanging onto the railings for dear life. He reached over and caught his friends hands, before hefting him up. The two of them fell to the floor laughing in relief. 

"Man, that was close." Kai sighed. 

"Kai, I got the mother fucker."

"Thanks Miyami."

"Oh shit Kai. There's a bogey heading in towards you guys. He must be incredibly important because I couldn't get at him. He was under heavy cover fire," she yelled angrily.

Kai whirled round and scanned the floor for the new comer. He spotted the blue haired, heavily beaten man scurry up the stairs opposite him and head into a small room, turning only briefly to return fire on the other gang. 

"Dammit, that's where Storm is, in that little room over there."

Kai made a move to leave but Ray grabbed his arm, and pulled him down as a hail of bullets slammed into the wall above their heads. 

More glass broke and there was another scream as they witnessed Ruin run another man through with her sword. She laughed evilly as her blood lust grew. Another figure broke a man's neck before heading towards the exit to secure it. 

"Hey Cap'n heads up, hot female heading towards you guys. I don't know where she came from but she looks totally pissed. She'll be entering the window opposite you guys in a couple of seconds."

"Why don't you fire on her?"

"I don't think she's on their side." Miyami replied grinning.

"What do you mean?" Kai demanded resigned. "Miyami?"

"Gomen, I'm just a little busy here."

"Tell me if you get visual o..." he trailed off as he watched a figure climb in the top story window and stride angrily all along the second stage, not seeming to give a damn about the people fighting around her or the bullets lodging in the walls. 

She was determined, that was for sure. 

"Who the fuck is that? Doesn't she realise we're in the middle of a gang war?" Ray demanded.

"Oh she knows all right." Kai replied a flicker of recognition crossing his handsome features. A man grabbed him by the throat but Kai whirled round head butting him severely, before kneeing him in the groin then following it through by slamming a broken piece of wood through his heart. The figure slumped and Kai made his way towards the other balcony.


	2. Not my night

A.N. Sorry this took so long, I write and write and then forget what I wrote so I forget to post until someone reminds me to do so. Sorry about that but thanks Kuri for reminding me. Life's been hectic, I saw **Harry Potter** on the **31st MAY**!!! Which was way before most people which is actually kewl, I'm so pleased but kind of disappointed with the film because I read the book before hand. Big mistake, I won't do that for the next one. Lol.

****

Disclaimer: _I don't own Beyblade and quite frankly would anyone want me to? I didn't think so. However Amber Benson is mine, Ruin Mulyan is mine as is Seth Benson. The others you don't recognise from beyblade are mine. Miyami Kinomiya belongs to the gifted and inspiring **Unlucky-Star** (_Thanks chica )_ Sonia Martini is the product of **SpitfireSae** on a sugar high._

Oh and this chapter was written by Sae but I rejiggled it to suit me so please re read it if you've read it before because it's different.

Chapter Two: Not my night

Amber slammed her open hand into the face of her opponent before throwing him off the balcony. She drew her pistol and fired twice, hitting two different men cleanly in the face. No one was going to stop her getting to Rayne. She had gotten Robert to track him down, and now she was here to finish the job she would have done if he hadn't pulled his gun on Sonia. She was going to show him, that no one hurt a young defenseless woman in her neighborhood.

Maybe if she looked around she might've registered the fact that she was surrounded by her own people, but she was concentrating on only one thing, revenge.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, but she turned, grabbing the arm and using his own momentum, threw her assailant into a table. She didn't have time to appreciate how the table collapsed under the force. She grimaced as another figure came towards her twirling a baton in his hand.

"Shit." she muttered under her breath.

She didn't need this right now. What she needed right now was Rayne delivered on a platter to her, for her to do with him what she pleased, but it seemed Storm was not up to co-operating with her. Well if he wished to do this the hard way she would oblige. She'd make his life extremely difficult. Well with the help of her bazooka. She sighted her pistol at his forehead, and pulled the trigger, all the time keeping her face expressionless. She pulled the trigger. Click. Her heart jolted in panic as the gun clicked empty. Shit.

The man smirked, all the time twirling his baton lazily. She quickly drew her Katana, and twisted it awkwardly to block the baton coming at her head. He stumbled back confused. She'd caught him off guard, with having the second weapon. He recovered quickly and slashed at her again. She parried the attack then, stepped forward into a kneeling position, bringing the sword with her. She caught him in the stomach hearing the satisfying squelch as the blade sliced through his abdomen. He bent double clutching his gut eyes wide and mouth gaping. He fell to the ground and she advanced.

Her heart lurched when she heard a click of a gun at close range behind her. She whirled round, instincts kicking in. She grabbed a figure and swung him in front of her body. The body jerked twice as the other person fired twice. Air whooshed out of his lungs; his eyes bulged in disbelief before his body slumped onto her. She pushed him into the shooter, and watched as they both toppled over the railings.

She dived into a booth as bullets rained in her direction, and reloaded her pistol. When she felt that it was safe again, she emerged blocking out the sounds all around her, totally oblivious to the figures watching her from across the balcony or on the roof of the building outside. A guard noticed her and approached grinning cockily, seeing nothing but a slim young slip of a girl with a blade, not the Huntress. Newbie, she thought with a glimmer of sympathy for the man who would soon fall to her blade. She round house kicked him, catching him in the chin. Then she step kicked him in the groin, before snapping his neck.

She stalked up to the door. Raising her foot she slammed it into the door, making it snap back on it's hinges. Shots were fired at her in quick succession. Rolling to the side she drew her pistol, and fired back. She heard a grunt as one of her bullets hit it's targets, and then smiled satisfied as another gun clicked empty. A calm feeling settled inside her and she knew this was when she was at her most dangerous.

She entered into the room, her gaze swept the whole area taking in the lack of body guards, Storm sitting by his office clutching a dagger with intricate engravings on his hilt, and a small smile graced her lips as she caught sight of Rayne. His eyes flitted nervously from her to Storm, then back to her, and a resigned expression settled on his face.

"Ah the huntress, and how are we today?" Storm asked exuding charm.

"Oh _I_ am fine. Rayne on the other hand is about to die." she answered smiling while stroking her Katana.

She heard Rayne gulp.

"Now, I'm afraid I can't possibly allow that Huntress, you see I need Rayne."

"Yeah, well _I_ need Rayne like a hole in the head, and I'm afraid, _I'm_ a little more important than _you_ are, right now. Plus I'm the only one with a weapon." Storm opened his mouth to counter, but she quickly added. "Well the only one armed and willing to kill."

Storm glanced at Rayne with a slightly inquisitive look in his silver eyes. "What did you do this time?"

Rayne shook his head nervously. "Nothing, nothing that would warrant my death."

"Wrong answer Rayne." she pointed her gun at his knee and fired.

"You Bitch!" he screamed.

"Asshole. You were going to rape a young innocent girl and for that you'll pay. Let's see how you'd rape someone without your tools." she smirked evilly, before firing the gun at his groin.

His agonized screams echoed through the restaurant.

-O-

Kai glanced up on hearing the screams. _'What the fuck was she doing in there?_' It sounded like she was torturing someone, but if it was who he thought it was, then all the things he'd heard about her were true. He turned his attention back to what he was working on at the moment. He watched Tala punch the time into the timer lodged inside the explosives, while he rammed another clip into his pistol.

He glanced around again, as another scream tore through the building; those who were in the building stopped what they were doing to glance up at the office. He disliked this completely. He wanted to reek the revenge, but had been ordered against all such action for the simple fact that Storm may have escaped before they had a chance to wipe him out. Now she was up there instead of him. His gaze took in the whole scene before him. His men and women locked in armed and unarmed combat with the whole of the Scorpion gang.

This was the reason they had decided to launch their attack tonight, when they had information that the whole gang would be gathered at the restaurant. Only now was Kai regretting this decision. Even though they had the element of surprise, they were still outnumbered.

Tempest hadn't wanted to send their whole group, as he didn't think they would need the extra people, besides he didn't want to risk every one. He had just sent his best and then had assigned groups to each team leader. Now they had almost lost a good number of their group, but this would be the end. They would take out the whole group and that would be Storm finished.

The Russian red head stood up and Kai motioned for him to get out of there. Tala nodded and moved towards Ruin. He stood close to her and ran his hands up her sides, loving the feel of her body underneath them. Ruin froze; then instinctively relaxed. She knew it could only be Tala standing behind her; only he had the effect of making her melt. But it still irked her that he'd been able to sneak up on her, so for that reason alone, she turned and stuck her gun in his face. Cerulean blue eyes widened as they stared down the line of the barrel into her chocolate brown ones. His generous mouth twitched, then easily he moved his snow white hand up to the gun and moved it out of his face.

"Mind where you point that thing, _pitchka_." he informed her mildly.

Ruin growled, but still a smirk played on her black lips. "In future don't sneak up on me." Then her eyes narrowed. "Where's everyone going?"

"Kai's ordered us out. It's about to happen."

She didn't need him to explain what was about to happen. She knew fine well, so firing one more round into an unsuspecting Scorpion; she led Tala towards the window. Tala quickly unhooked his clip and began to secure it to the rail. All the time with Ruin covering. He tugged the rope out to the length he needed then tossed it over the rail. He watched it whip against the wall as it fell to the ground below, and he turned to Ruin.

"You go first. I'll cover you." The look she gave him made him feel as though he had horns sticking out of his head. "I mean it, Ruin, go!" he half dragged her; half pulled her to the window. "Get down that rope now before I throw you out."

Her eyes narrowed at him, then sullenly she climbed over the rail, and latched onto the rope then pushing with her legs she began to abseil down the wall. All the time her eyes never left the Russian. She hit the ground then when she was sure he had started down the rope, she turned to scan the area for enemies and seeing nothing she motioned for Tala to follow her.

-O-

Kai watched the rest of his men retreat from the building, before advancing towards the small door in the office shooting several people who got in his way.

"Yami, I need cover fire."

"Hai."

He walked through the door and stared at the woman standing with a booted foot pressed against the throat of the blue haired man who was backed against the wall. She was easily balanced with a gun pointed at the head of Storm, who was braced back in his chair with a splotch of blood on his left chest. His silver eyes were glazed with pain. It was then he noticed the blood soaked jeans and the knee of the azure haired man. He winced as he processed what he was seeing.

He strode up to the woman and wrapped his arms round her waist before carrying her out the door. Just before he left, he turned and fired his gun at both their fore heads.

"Have you got her yet?" Miyami demanded.

"Yeah, I've got her. Wait till we get clear of the building, then you can blow her sky high." he ordered.

Miyami rubbed her hands together in gleeful anticipation. "Arigatou, Kai."

He carted the squirming and cursing figure out the door, down into the street and over to his motorcycle. Ruin, Tala and Ray were already there waiting for them. Ray watched with interest as Kai dumped the figure on the ground by the bike. Ruin glared at the red head woman haughtily, obviously not impressed with the fact that Kai had retrieved her. The woman glared up at Kai, but he merely swung his leg over the bike and turned to her.

"Get on." he growled when she made no move to follow.

"Forget it."

"Get on, kid." Ray said getting off his bike and moving towards her.

"Ruin, Tala, Ray get out of here." The three of them got on their bikes before gunning the engine and racing off. "I won't repeat my self, get on." Kai added pulling out his pistol from his leather bomber jacket.

The Huntress for the first time in her life felt as though she had no control over the situation. She knew that this night was definitely one of her worst nights. It had gone from bad to worse, she was still in pain from her earlier show down with Rayne and now she was facing some guy and he was holding a gun. His dangerously handsome face was devoid of emotion and she knew that in an instant he could and would kill her. Sighing angrily she stepped up and swung herself onto the back of his bike.

"Hold on, we need to clear this place fast." he ordered, tone deathly.

He gunned the engine, then smirked satisfied as she tightened her arms around his waist. He accelerated, then sped off down the street.

-O-

Miyami watched as the bike cleared the street, then grinning she pulled a remote out of her pocket. She lengthened the aerial; then she pressed the little red button. She ducked behind the wall, and listened as there was a loud explosion. A tremor spread through the street as debris and glass rained every where. Smoke rose up in streams and filtered across the sky, blocking out the light of the stars. Flames stained the sky a sunset red.

"Kai we've done it."

Satisfied with the result, she swung her rifle over her shoulder and started down the ladder, climbing down the side of the building. She dropped to the ground and wheeled her bike out of its hiding place. She unfastened her helmet and tied back her long silver hair, before slipping her helmet over her head. She straddled the bike then started the engine. A few seconds later she was chasing after the others.

-O-

The bike rolled to a stop as Kai turned it to look at the sky. There was a red glow to it as the heat of the flames dyed it a reddish hue. He felt the girl shift behind him but didn't let go of her hold around his waist. Ruin noticed this almost immediately, that the red head was resting her head against his back, with her arms around his waist. She glanced at her soul mate and motioned to Kai. Tala nodded with a slight smirk, knowing exactly what Ruin was thinking. He cleared his throat noisily, and Ruin watched amused as the girl jumped off the bike and walked away from them.

Kai sighed, fixing the pair with one of his famous death glares. They were a menace, he thought sourly. He had just been getting comfortable. He got off the bike slowly, then walked after the retreating figure. Did she really believe that she could try to kill the man he'd been planning to kill since before he could remember? He let his anger rise and take over.

"Stop right there Huntress."

He watched with vicious satisfaction as she froze and her shoulders slumped. Ruin gasped and almost fell off her bike in shock. Tala just grinned seeing his girlfriends' expression. She had believed that the Huntress was some one like her, cold and deadly. She hadn't imagined some one who would be so reckless. She was sorely disappointed that the woman she'd idolized was nothing like she'd imagined. Kai noticed none of this, he was too busy letting his anger grow and solidify. It was just taking all of his control to not attack the girl with Dranzer, his favorite gun.

She grimaced as she turned to face the man who had carted her out of the building like a sack of potatoes. He was currently the only man who'd been able to get so close to her and she felt humiliated that she hadn't put up some kind of fight. But this was the illustrious Ace of Hearts, she didn't expect anything less. Her gaze met his and it felt as though a hot arrow speared through her gut, giving her a warm but sharp jolt. His face, as handsome as sin, Amber thought, was expressionless. It was dangerous, forbidding, charming and darkly male. There were hollows in his cheeks which merely added to the instant, sexual punch. His eyes were a deep unfathomable mahogany -which at the moment flashed with unspoken rage. His skin was smooth and looked to have been poured over his strong masculine bone structure. His full mouth was set in a firm line. His royal blue hair just brushed the collar of his black jacket; the slate blue bangs fell over his forehead. His body was encased in black for the fight; it was trim and muscled and looked hard as granite under the clothes. She shook all other thoughts out of her head; this was not the time to get into this. Right now she had to, had to what?

Ruin's haughty snort cut into her train of thought. Annoyed Amber shot her a dark murderous glare. Ruin gave her pointed look and it was then that she realized that Kai had been speaking to her the whole time. She felt her cheeks heat. Dammit she hadn't been paying attention; instead she'd been carrying out a study on his looks.

"What?" she asked tone resigned.

"What were you doing at the warehouse tonight?"

"Why wouldn't I be there?" Amber snapped back. "There was blood and violence, my sort of thing."

"I heard the Huntress didn't involve herself in the petty wars of the gangs."

Amber looked round at the red head who'd spoken for the first time since they'd stopped. He was incredibly hot too, which made her frown. What was this gang? _Bishi guys 'r' us_? This one's face was sharper, colder. His skin was a pure porcelain which was flawless. She had the biggest desire to rub her thumb along the prominent cheek bone to find out if it was really as smooth and soft as it looked. But she curved that urge, not only would it be stupid and it would probably amuse the man, but she'd probably lose a hand in the process from the Goth lady who stood possessively beside him. His eyes were the color of the sky in winter when snow blanketed the ground making the sky even bluer. His red hair was striking. Such a vibrant orange-red which was styled into two pieces, with two bangs which framed his face. His body, too, looked to be worked on. He was lean and tall, and he held himself confidently as though he was sure nothing could harm him. She didn't neglect how he stood slightly in front of the dark haired woman, as though preparing to shield her from any danger. So the two of them obviously were together. There may be no real public displays of affection, which was good because that could make bigger targets of them, but they still seemed solid.

"What makes you so sure that I'm the Huntress?"

"You haven't denied it.", the red head spoke.

"Nope, but the Huntress has a reputation for being a vicious killer; maybe I figured if you guys were going to kill me, having you believe I was her, could possibly scare you out of that idea."

"So why not keep that facade up?" again the red head spoke up and it made Amber wonder was he the kind of person that once he started talking, he couldn't shut up.

Her shoulders slumped resigned. Playing 20 questions hadn't been on her schedule tonight and she still had to meet up with Midge and Beth. "If I'm going to keep talking to you, I at least should know _your_ name."

"Why know mine, if I don't know yours?"

Kai growled. "This is going to take all night and I really don't want to spend all night in your company." he bit out. "You are the huntress. She uses a Katana and so do you," she opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. "But Tala is right, why concern yourself with a gang war?"

Amber shrugged, then smirked. "So your name's Tala?" she addressed the red head who merely nodded with a slight grin, then she continued talking to the bluenette. "Rayne's been causing me some problems. Well not me specifically, but innocents. A young woman was almost raped this evening, if I hadn't shown up when I did, she would have been." she said this to the only other woman in the group, hoping to appeal to her sense of feminism. "Rayne and a member from some group I've never noticed before-"

"Am I supposed to assume that you actually know the gangs in Bakuten?" The woman finally addressed her and something about her voice seemed familiar to Amber, but she couldn't place it, yet.

"Just because I'm not involved in your petty war does not mean that I do not keep my ear to the ground. I keep a close eye on the gangs that are causing me and mine trouble."

"Yours?" Tala asked raising a brow in interest. He leaned back against his bike and folded his arms.

"The innocents who have no gangs to protect them, they come under my protection." she stated determined.

There was a sound as two more bikes arrived up. Kai's head jerked round as he watched as the two bikes rolled to a halt. Two helmets were removed to reveal Ray and Miyami. He nodded at them.

"What are you two doing here?" Kai demanded. "I told you to head home."

Miyami, ignoring her normally indisputable leader; took in the scene before her. Then her eyes fell upon the red haired figure who was glaring up defiantly at their leader. Her silver eyes lit up.

"So you're the huntress. Sugoi!"

Amber's head whipped round to look at the new arrivals. She took in the appearance of them. The first was another hottie. He was Asian, but she couldn't tell whether he was Chinese or Japanese. His skin was a slight peaches and cream coloring, which complimented his golden eyes. His pupils were vertical slits, which reminded her of cats eyes. Actually a lot of his face had feline qualities. She could see indents on his ripe lower lip, which she supposed could come from the tips of fangs resting against it. His hair was raven black; bangs fell onto his forehead held back from his eyes by a red head band boasting a Ying-yang symbol. A long piece of his hair was bound by a white strip of cloth so it fell down to his ankles with a tuft of hair at the end. He unlike the others was not dressed in black but in white, with Ying-yang symbol and it occurred to her that he may have been Chinese. But what ever the outfit meant, he did look good in it.

So, Amber decided if the man was Chinese, then the woman must have been Japanese, and that made sense. The language the woman spoke sounded familiar and vaguely oriental. As was the woman herself, familiar and vaguely oriental. Her hair was a shimmering silver, streaked with pink, black and green which was tied back from her face. Her eyes were like pools of silver nitrate framed with black. Her skin was a pale and flawless, and her face contained hints of canine in her, as did her ears which were decorated with hoops. She couldn't have been much taller than Amber, but she was a little more curvier and she held herself like a fighter. A wolf ready to pounce. She also wore black, like the rest. But unlike the rest, Amber felt a connection to her.

Finally her gaze turned to the other woman with the jet black hair and the swimming brown eyes. Her skin was pale enough that it was nearly translucent, made even more so by the black eye liner, and the black lipstick. A ring punctuated her lower lip and a red stud pierced her left nostril while a blue one decorated her left eyebrow. Her hair was chopped jaggedly along her jaw bone and streaked with vibrant red and blue. She was pretty tall, but Amber supposed with the tall Russian as a boyfriend she'd have to be. Her body was curvy clad in black leather, with a black leather duster which fell to her ankles. Amber had to admire that coat, but she'd never be able to wear something like that, because she was too short, and coats like that made her shorter. And being short didn't really make people afraid of her, unlike this woman. She looked sadistic, but something wasn't right there either.

Amber froze as everything clicked into place. Miyami Kinomiya and Ruin Mulryan. They'd grown up since she'd last seen them, since she severed her ties with the Hearts. They of course wouldn't remember her, or if they did they wouldn't link Amber Benson with the huntress. To them Amber Benson was dead, or that was the story that had been conjured up to let her leave the gang without anyone coming to look for her. Only two people knew the truth. Seth, her favorite uncle and King of Hearts, and Johnny a heart who'd been like her brother but who'd gone rogue before she'd left. It had been strange at first without her family, but now she was faced with some of them again including some new ones. It bugged her how quickly the bluenette had moved up to be next in line to take over. He hadn't been in the gang four years ago, so she guessed he must have been pretty ruthless to take on certain members and gain such a high rank. Same with the red head, he too hadn't been in the gang before. What was Seth playing at, bringing in such strong members and letting them get so high in such a short time? How could he be sure they were loyal to him?

She wasn't paying attention to them anymore, Kai noticed. She was staring into space and there was a frown marring her features. So this was the Huntress. He'd never seen her up close before but he'd heard of her terrorizing the southern gangs. He had to admit she wasn't what he'd expected. She was too... there was just something not quite up to par with her. But what it was he could never figure. It was as though she was trying to be something she wasn't. He opened his mouth to say something when a high pitched tone cut through the cold night air. Everyone pulled out their cell phones and checked them, including Amber who pulled out two.

"It's me." she stated pushing the call answer button on her second mobile and turning round, while placing the other back into her duster pocket. "Yello, Midge what's up?...No you damn well cannot!...No tell Beth to wait....I don't care what time it is....I know it's late, but you have to wait for me......Oh yeah, Paul'll really be a great help. I can just see it now, you guys get attacked and Paul will either try to reason with them, or bore them to death with unimportant facts." her voice dripped sarcasm.

She acutely heard the Asians snigger at the comment. She could just imagine how they saw Paul in their minds. She glanced over her shoulder to see both Tala and the bluenette smirking, but there was something in Kai's eyes that she couldn't fathom, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Midge, please...Tell Beth if she does, I will kick her ass. You know she shouldn't go against me.... I won't be long...What am I doing? Um, I'm...uh...well I had a job to do for Robert, and I've just completed it and I'll be home soon...She'll what?!...But the apartment isn't safe!" Amber yelled, biting her tongue almost immediately regretting what she had said.

How stupid could she be? She had just admitted to them that her apartment wasn't safe. Stupid!

"Midge I'm gonna go, now, and I'll be there in, what, ten minutes, ok?...Ok, then...see ya...Bye." she hung up and turned slowly to face the bluenette, and the rest who were looking at her expectantly. Yep, a firing squad right now would definitely be more fun.

"What's wrong with your apartment?" Miyami asked.

"Nothing. I just had some trouble." lying was getting easier, but she felt bad for lying to such a close friend, but Miyami didn't know who she was so that didn't really count.

"Oh honto."

Miyami out of all of them had always seemed the friendliest, but that was deceiving. Just because she was friendly, didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. She was. Amber had become aware that looks did not mean everything and good instincts meant whether you lived or died. She'd learnt to trust her instincts and right now they were telling her that the Hearts weren't out to kill her, though the looks that Ace sent her could have her six feet under, if they could kill.

"I have to go." she muttered curtly; then remembering her upbringing, she turned to the bluenette. "Thank you for saving me."

"Hn."

Amber turned to go.

"You need a lift?"

She turned around to smile gratefully at the Miyami. It would be nice to spend some time with her friend to probe her about her life without _Ace_ and _Jack _(Tala) watching her every move, though if she'd been back in the gang she'd have outranked them as being the _Queen of Hearts_.

"Um, yeah actually, that would be kinda handy."

"I thought I told you guys to get home?" Kai glanced at them.

"You did but we ignored you." Tala answered idly.

Kai's shoulders sagged; they were all rebelling against his leadership. No sooner had they met the huntress, then they were ignoring orders and answering back.

"Well don't ignore me. I want you guys to return home. You too Miyami, Tyson's gonna be wondering where you are. If _she_ wants a lift, then I'll drive her to where she wants to go." He added watching the glimmer of fear and disappointment flicker through the Huntress's wide black eyes.

"Don't worry Kai, I'll get them back safely for you." Tala declared starting the engine, followed by Ray and Ruin.

Miyami made an apologetic face at Amber, before going over to her bike and hitting the throttle. Amber grimaced as Kai sat on his bike offering his second helmet to her. She took it reluctantly, then after a moments hesitation clambered on behind him. After the others raced off, Kai revved the engine, then took off at such a pace that Amber had to wrap her arms round his lean waist tightly in order to keep from falling off.

"Oh tonight is just not my night." she grumbled inhaling his intoxicating scent.

-O-

Several minutes later they drove up to her apartment block. Amber glanced up and annoyance flickered through her eyes as she caught sight of Midge, Beth and Paul standing there waiting for her. She got off and pulled off her helmet shoving it into Kai's arms as he too took of his helmet and awarded her two friends a charming smile which made them melt. She growled muttering darkly under her breath.

"Thank you for the lift. Good bye. Let's hope we don't have to see each other again." she said turning round to her friends, shaking her head as she caught Midge unashamedly drooling over him.

"I'll see you sooner rather than later." he called after her, then flashing another smile in the direction of the two swooning females he sped off.

Amber pulled her keys out of her pocket and headed towards the main door. "Quit drooling guys." she muttered curtly, before unlocking the door and entering the block followed by her two friends plus the dull as corrugated cardboard boyfriend.

After entering the apartment Amber headed directly towards the bathroom, as Paul marveled at the bullet holes in the door and Beth examined the blood stain on the carpet. The police had arrived earlier that morning and the coroner had removed the body, while forensics gleaned evidence from the crime scene. All three girls had talked to the police during school, and had decided they'd talk to them the next day once things had calmed down.

Amber unarmed herself and shoved everything into her duffel bag, not the most inconspicuous place to hide them, but it was the only thing she had with her at the moment. She plucked out her brown contacts and tugged off her short red wig, to reveal warm amber orbs and mid length ebony black hair, tipped with gold. She removed the pale make up to exhibit her real skin color of dusky gold with a tint of rose along the cheek bones. Her mouth was small but full, a deep cherry red, showed off her gentleness, which she rarely let anyone see anymore. This was the real Amber, the young woman she had once been. Her face still showed the glimpse of innocence and love of life she had once possessed, which had been destroyed by the person she had become to survive.

That was why she had changed her hair and eye color, and even her skin color, for the simple reason, that if she didn't look like herself, feel like herself or act like herself, then she really wasn't Amber Benson she was the Huntress. She didn't like what she had become, but if it was a choice of being herself and dying or being someone else and surviving she chose to be someone else.

She stared at herself in the mirror, wondering had she ever just been herself, or happy with who she was?

Back home, she had disliked how she had always sought out her cousin's help as though she was dependent on him, and here in this town as the Huntress she was disappointed by her actions, in how she could kill people in cold blood. But they weren't good people, and she did save those in danger, she took a small amount of consolation in the fact that she wasn't completely heartless.

Just completely insensitive. She didn't know what it was like to love anyone, and she couldn't honestly say she hated anyone. She respected her uncle, tolerated her Father and adored her cousin. While with Midge and Beth, she could see herself risking her life for them, but if they died, then would she really be heartbroken? No, she'd just get on with her life and she probably wouldn't even grieve them. She had grieved _her_. But _she_ had been special. Her best friend, the one and only person who knew her inside and out. Who could tell what she was thinking by just looking at her.

Yes, her mother had been special, and Amber had been heart broken when she had died. After her death Amber had just felt empty and numb inside, and no one could fill it. Her father had tried and so had Seth and Bryan and they had succeeded to some degree, but it wasn't enough. No what she needed was someone who could fill her completely and make her whole, for the first time in her life. So far that person had not arrived.

Before she could carry on her self analysis, there was a knock on the door and Midge stormed in sea blue hair streaming behind her, beige skin flushed. Amber glanced at her coolly over her shoulder, and cocked a perfectly sculpted brow as her friend thumped down on the toilet lid. She didn't ask what was wrong, knowing fine well that Midge would tell her in a matter of minutes.

"I can't stand Paul. He's driving me insane with his incessant ranting." she declared angrily.

"Paul doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who incessantly rants, Midge so what did you do to him?"

Midge squirmed. "Nothing. I just don't understand what she sees in him."

"I don't know, could be the fact that he's safe and sweet to her. He doesn't pressure her and makes her feel good about herself."

"But that's not the way it's supposed to be. He's supposed to sweep her off her feet and make her feel as though she's floating on air."

"That would probably not be a good thing for Beth, after all she hates heights. Look, Lexi, there's different ideas of how it should be for different people. Maybe he doesn't do anything for you, and that's a good thing. You don't want her to get angry with you for stealing her boyfriends attention away from her."

"I would never do that." Midge cried outraged at such a thought. "But I don't know, there's just something wrong with them two being together."

"Midge." I warned. "Don't even think about breaking them up. You've been forbidden from interfering with Beth's relationship with Paul. Anyone would think you're jealous."

"I told you I'm not interested in him." Midge yelled frustrated.

"No, I mean jealous of her relationship. You know, how she's in one and you're not?" Amber smirked as Midge blushed. "So how are things with Jason?"

"He said Hi to me today in French." she said proudly. "And Richard says he likes me."

"Good. And?"

"That's all Richard said."

"Uh-huh." these were the kind of conversations which reminded Amber that she was still alive, and not totally dead. That she was a young woman instead of just being the hunter all the time.

"He said that Jason might be at the Siron this weekend, but that there's a gang initiation going on there that weekend. Do you think that Jason's going to join one?"

Amber's ears pricked up. A gang initiation? For what gang? "Richard didn't happen to mention which gang did he?"

"Something Irish. I'm not really sure, Jason walked past at that moment."

Amber had to resist the urge to roll her eyes; instead she closed her eyes and compressed her lips. "Could you ask Richard tomorrow?"

"I will if you ask the cute motorcycle man out on a date."

"No way." Amber answered abruptly.

"Why not?"

"Just, Lexi leave it. He's a pain in the ass and I don't want to deal with him."

"Yeah, a really sexy pain in the ass." Midge countered.

"Not the point Lexi, stay off the subject of him, because I'm not going to see him again. Well for a while anyway."

"I thought he said something about seeing you soon." Midge pointed out.

"I'm surprised you heard while you were drooling over him." Amber bit off. "We should probably get our stuff together and get out of here."

"Yeah, creepy how our apartment is a murder scene." Midge mused shuddering as they emerged from the bathroom.

Beth turned to look at them; her smoky eyes were filled with tears. Beth was the delicate one of them; she was timid and hated the sight of blood or to see someone in pain. Knowing that someone had lost their life in their home was probably tearing her up inside.

"It's terrible. The Police said he was pretty young and that he had a wife."

Amber turned away so she could no longer see Beth's forlorn expression. This was not what she needed to hear. She had to keep reminding herself that he was planning to kill her and that she hadn't killed him, even though she had tortured him. That didn't make her feel any better.

"Yeah that's harsh. He probably had his whole life ahead of him." Midge added.

"Just strange how he was in your apartment. Good thing none of you guys were home. Could have been drastic for one of you. I wonder what he was doing here?" Paul murmured pouring himself a glass of juice from the fridge. "Hey where were you, Am's?"

"I went for a run. Saw the bullet holes when I arrived home and phoned the police."

"Oh right. That was so lucky." he gushed in between gulps, then he crossed to the fridge to get himself another drink.

"Help yourself Paul." Midge muttered tightly.

Paul grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, so when do you guys have to talk to the police?"

"Um, Around 12 or so. We get out of some classes to talk to them."  
  
"Yeah we're now the official hot news of the college. I mean I'm the journalist, but I'm being investigated." Midge sighed exasperated.

"People need a life and to stop poking their noses into ours." Amber growled fed up of people talking about them.

"Yeah but are you going to buy them a pretty new life?! Because I sure as hell ain't." Midge muttered darkly.

"This will pass over in a while. I mean no one can seriously believe that we could kill anyone, could they?" Beth tried to reassure them unsuccessfully.

Paul placed a comforting arm around his delicate girlfriend, placing his glass on the counter. "Of course they couldn't."

"It's not _us_ they are saying. It's Am's, because she was the only one at home." Midge informed them soberly.

The dark haired girl nodded. "Everyone knows that you guys weren't home, and no one really knows me. They're bound to speculate."

"Hmm, well they can speculate about something else." Midge picked up her duffel bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. Beth copied her motion, followed by Amber, whose was a little heavier due to the fact that she had her weapons and extras in there.

"We should probably leave. Paul will you be ok to take Beth home?"

Paul nodded. "No problem Ami." he took Beth's bag from her and guided her out the door.

"Bye Midgie, bye Ams, see you at school tomorrow." Beth cried out disappearing down the corridor.

The other two followed them before turning up the street towards Midge's home, not saying anything but thinking about everything Beth had said.

-O-

The key turned in the lock and the door was pushed open slowly as a man in his forties leaned against it, braced to attack anyone should he need to. Sonia watched with wide dilated eyes, from the top of the stairs where she had been crouching waiting. The man with black hair tinged with silver at the sides entered the dark hall, frowning at the fact that the hall light wasn't on. His green eyes narrowed. It usually was on when someone was home, mainly because everyone forgot how to turn it off. He had lectured them senselessly about the high electricity bills that they were causing, and now that the lights were off, he was worried about them. He hung up his jacket on the rack and placed his brief case on the pine floor. He growled, as he reached up to flick on the hall light. The light snapped on illuminating the long hall and the stairs where he could see a young girl cowering on the top step.

"Sonia? Is that you?"

Sonia's head jerked up, and as she saw the familiar figure at the bottom of the stairs, she bounded down the stairs and flung her arms around him. The man braced himself against the wall so that he could hug the young woman.

"Seth, you're back." came her muffled response.

"Yeah _solas_, I'm back. Where is every body?" he asked looking round as he set her back on her feet. (_solas _= light)

She grabbed his brief case and carried it into the kitchen, followed by Seth who rose a brow at her actions. None of the others would do that, then again, neither would he. "I don't know."

Seth nodded, easing himself into a chair glad to be able to sit down on something comfortable for a change. "Put the Kettle on, kid."

Sonia nodded as she grabbed the kettle and turned on the tap, filling it with water.

"How are you getting on? You haven't been around lately."

"Um good. I don't suppose I should be here, should I?"

Seth chuckled lightly. "You know you're welcome here anytime you want."

"I know but with the police watching everyone that comes and goes here, and with you not wanting them to realize my links to you, I really shouldn't be here, I'm so sorry." she wrung her hands nervously

"Sonia calm down. I'm sure that Detective Ozuma isn't out at this time of night. He probably thinks we're all tucked up in our beds safe and sound." catching her wince, he wondered out loud. "What's wrong _a leanabh_(child)?"

Sonia sighed taking a seat opposite him, the glare of the fluorescent light reflecting of the lamented kitchen table. "I was.... um.....attacked tonight. I've been scared before in my life, but tonight I was terrified."

Seth's eyes glittered with anger, his fists clenched and a fine trembling line of rage ran through his body.

"Who did this? " he asked, fury darkening his tone.

Sonia closed her eyes, swallowed thickly, before opening them to reveal somber pain filled cornflower blue. "One was Rayne, the other I didn't know." her voice cracked.

The older man frowned. "How do you know Rayne?"

"Um, that's what the Huntress called him. I saw her today you know. More than likely Kai will have ran into her as well. That's probably why they're late." Sonia mused getting up and flicking on the kettle.

Seth looked at her sharply. "What do you mean you saw her?"  
  
"Oops. Um, well, I got bored at the boarding house. So I decided to go for a walk. I really didn't feel like hanging out with Arista and Aspin, they're checking out the clubs. I was walking through the town, when I was captured by some guys. They wanted to rape me." her voice hitched here, in a mixture of fear and shame. "But the huntress turned up. She totally kicked ass. First she snapped the first guys neck, the second one she challenged to unarmed combat."

Seth stared at her. That didn't seem like his niece to take unnecessary risks. "Go on."

"Well the guy found his gun, and was going to shoot me, when she threw herself in front of me and took the bullet."

"She got shot?" he almost leapt out of his seat.

"No, that's what I thought for a while, but she was wearing a vest so she was only bruised. Then she said she was going to get the bastard that was going to rape me. He had blue hair and he was a Scorpion, so I guess he'll probably go to the restaurant that everyone is fighting in. So I guess Amber will end up in the same place." Sonia ended pouring the boiled water into the teapot.

Seth loved his tea; it was part of his Irish heritage. He was proud of his Irish heritage and taught it to his children. He promoted them to pass on their own heritage. He watched as Sonia placed the teapot on the stove. In the teapot was the only way Seth would have his tea made, any other way and he'd make them make it again.

"Nice deduction Sonia." he nodded processing everything she'd just said and wondering if she knew she called the Huntress Amber.

He wondered how his heir would react to seeing her. He was betting there'd be some fire works. But he'd find out when they returned. He glanced at the clock, they should've been back already. He didn't like it when they didn't keep to their time. Kai had always had a habit of being punctual, he never liked wasting time, but it was now hours after they were supposed to be home, so where were they? No this wasn't good; this worried him. Especially since they had received no word from any of them since before the attack. What if they had gotten caught? What if the Huntress turning up had thrown them so much that they couldn't stop Storm? What if- He stopped himself. What ifs weren't going to help him right now.

What he needed to do now was to calm down and wait for them to return. If in the next hour they hadn't returned then he would send a search party for them.

As Sonia handed him his cup of tea and placed her own on the table, he decided to concentrate on something non work related. His life couldn't be consumed by gang rivalry, he would discuss everything he had discovered with Kai later, but right now he'd choose a different topic of conversation.

"How is College?"

Sonia glanced up at him from rooting inside her school bag. She tucked her garnet hair behind her ears and sat down opposite him with a heavy sigh. She linked her fingers round her mug to warm her suddenly freezing hands.

"Boring. We're losing more and more students to gangs everyday. It's hard to look around class to see how many more have fallen. I mean even the fraternities have started initiating their newbies into gangs. What they make them go through so they can join, I mean the hazing, it makes me sick looking at it."

"Bio-volt grows stronger every day. That's why I'm intent on bringing them down. It will happen, we just need to form a co-op with all the smaller gangs, a coalition of sorts. Together we can be strong enough to over throw them."

Sonia's blue eyes glittered with determination. "I want them brought down, for what they did to Arista's parents, to Aspin's family and to mine. I want them brought to justice for all those innocents whose lives they carelessly destroyed." Then her face fell. "But how can we do that when Ozuma wants to take us down. Every time you make a move, he anticipates it. The last time you barely got away with your freedom. If he found out about my connection to Steve", she trailed off, then continued. "He suspects something, I know that. Yesterday he was questioning my course rep about me."

Seth nodded with a sly smile on his face. His head shot up as the door swung open and Miyami, Ruin, Tala and Ray bundled in the door chatting over each other. From what Seth could make out the huntress was the hot topic, even though they didn't mention her name. They all came to an abrupt stop as they saw him sitting there by the kitchen table with Sonia by his side.

Ruin grinned brightly, for her anyway. Dia duit, m'uncail. Conas ata tu?" she greeted walking over to cooker to pour herself a cup of tea. (Hello uncle. How are you?)

"Tá mé i mbarr mo slainte, mo neacht." Seth replied. (I'm at the top of my health, my niece)

"Hey Uncle Seth, Sonia." Ray greeted leaning back against the work top, while Miyami sat down beside her friend.

"Tempest, nice to see you back again. Kai's been like a dictator. Our own modern day Hitler." Tala joked.

He never referred to Seth by his name, he thought Tempest was a cooler name. While the rest all referred to him as uncle because he took them in when they were young and their parents had been killed. He looked after them as though they were his own.

Sonia smiled at everyone, her extended family. There was Miyami, she was the friendliest of them but cross her and you wouldn't come out looking the best for it, it was her sometimes dry wit and comments which could keep the group sane in the most dire situations. She found something to say no matter what trouble she was in, and that sharp tongue got her into plenty of trouble.

Ray was the constant member of the group, no matter what happened you could rely on Ray. He would come through in any situation, only problem was that if he didn't, he would beat himself up over it.

Ruin was the sadistic bitch, she acted as though she hated everything, but it was an act. Ruin wanted people to think she didn't care about anyone, but the truth was, if anything, Ruin cared the most. She'd lost her mother, her father and though they'd never really showed her whether they cared or not, since usually they were too caught up in their own problems; she'd cared about them, and it had hurt her when they'd died leaving her totally alone in the world.

Last but not least was Tala, the second in command. He was strong and determined, for those that mattered he'd risk everything. But he'd do it as though he hadn't a cared in the world. He took things in his stride and never let anything bother him, he was a lot like Kai in that aspect. He was overconfident in most things, but that was just one of the many flaws that made him Tala, and the only one to put him in his place was Ruin.

Finally she glanced at her watch. "Um...Seth I think I might head home. Arista and Aspin will worry about me, and I don't like leaving them in the boarding house on their own."

Seth eyed her thoughtfully, she was still scared but that wasn't going to stop her heading home so that her friends wouldn't get in trouble for her being absent, and for that he admired her. "OK Sonia, if you feel you'd be ok, then head home. Do you want someone to take you home?"

Sonia was about to shake her head, when Miyami jumped out of her seat. "I'll take her home."

Seth frowned, then nodded. "Fine, but don't take any unnecessary risks, Miya."

Miyami beamed. "Who me? C'mon Son's, we're gonna take a ride."

Man my chapters are long and filled with nothingness. Oh well the next chapter isn't as long thank god. Oh and if you want to read another gang fic I'd advise you to try out Katrina-Neko-jin, I like it.

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